6 crucial PS5 reveal details you probably missed
Some key facts got brushed under the rug during Sony's jam-packed presentation.
More than a year after announcing the PlayStation 5, Sony Interactive Entertainment has at long last revealed its next-generation console. The company hosted an hour-long, online presentation on June 11 where it also unveiled an initial roster of games that will be playable on the new system.
The presentation was packed with information about the upcoming PS5 hardware and details about its impending titles. There were plenty of unexpected moments, like the announcement of the PS5 Digital Edition, that stood out but there were also a handful of important facts that were glossed over during the live stream.
Here are six key details that didn’t quite get their moment in the spotlight during the PS5 event.
6. Don’t worry, you can put the PS5 on its side — The PS5’s flashy new design was cause for divisiveness between fans online. But whether or not fans were on board with the console’s new look many gamers wondered, will the PS5 be able to lay flat on its side?
A majority of Sony’s presentation showed the console standing upright, but yes the PS5 will be capable of resting flat. This was only shown off for a fleeting moment during the announcement but Sony published images of the console laying on its side after the showcase.
All users will need to do is place the circular base that will come with the PS5 underneath it to keep its car-spoiler-like wings from making it wobble.
It can lay down, don't worry!
5. Spider-Man: Miles Morales isn't a sequel — The announcement of Spider-Man Miles Morales was easily one of the presentation’s hypest moments. But fans’ excitement was quickly stifled when SIE’s head of European business, Simon Rutter, revealed that the game announcement was actually just an expansion of Marvel’s Spider-Man and not a full sequel.
“I guess you could call it an expansion and an enhancement to the previous game,” Rutter told the Telegraph. “There’s a substantial Miles Morales component—which is the expansion element—but also within the game as well there’s been major enhancements to the game and the game engine, obviously deploying some of the major PlayStation 5 technology and features.”
Later, Bloomberg's Jason Schreier clarified that Miles Morales will be comparable in size and scope to the fun-sized Uncharted 4 spinoff, The Lost Legacy.
Now the question is: will gamers need to repurchase Marvel’s Spider-Man for the PS5 to play Spider-Man Miles Morales on the next-gen hardware?
Sony hasn’t announced an equivalent feature to the Xbox Series X’s Smart Delivery, which will give gamers a free copy of all Xbox Game Studio titles on the Series X if they own them on the Xbox One. So this might be the case.
4. The PS5 is a big chungus — It might have been difficult to tell during the presentation, but the PS5 is going to be one massive console. Redditor GREBO7 used the standardized measurements of consoles’ disc drives to compare the PS5 to its predecessors as well as all of the Xbox consoles and it’s going to be monolithic:
In awe of the size of these next-gen consoles.
That being said, the Xbox Series X is one thicc box as well. The upcoming generation of consoles might be the most cutting-edge but they’ll also be the largest systems in gaming history.
3. A surprising amount of 3D platformers will launch on the PS5 — When many gamers think “next-gen console” hyper realistic graphics might come to mind. But Sony balanced out games like Gran Turismo 7 with a healthy dose of cartoony franchises.
A surprising number of 3D platformers for the PS5 were announced, which gave the upcoming console some strong nostalgic appeal to long-time gamers. Sackboy: A Big Adventure, Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart, and Oddworld: Soulstorm all build on long-standing PlayStation series and came as a pleasant surprise for anyone who’s been a Sony stan since the PlayStation 1 days.
2. Sony teased the PS5’s home screen for a split-second — The company momentarily teased how the PS5’s menu screen will look like when gamers will first turn it on the console. Here’s the screenshot from the presentation:
Looks pretty soothing.
It’s no longer as aggressively blue as the PS4’s default menu background, instead Sony opted for more soothing neutral colors this time around. We still don’t know what the actual menu will look like, but fans have designed their own mock ups to try and predict what using the PS5 will be like.
1. The PS5 will have many additional accessories — Finally, the PS5 will launch with a few unexpected additions: the DualSense controller Charging Station, Pulse 3D Wireless Headset, a media remote, and an HD camera. We still don’t know what the console or any of these peripherals will cost, but expect them all to be sold separately.
The wireless headset was perhaps the most out of left field, but Sony has been hyping its Tempest 3D AudioTech for some time now. Sony has spent a lot of time trying to develop an immersive audio experience for the PS5, so much so that users might one day have the option to send Sony pictures of their ears to optimize the sound quality.
Some predictions estimate that the console could end up with a $500 price tag so getting the full PS5 accessory smorgasbord probably won’t be easy on the wallet.
PlayStation 5 will be released in late 2020.
